Heart attack, also known as myocardial infarction, is the blockage of the flow of the blood through a coronary artery (a blood vessel that feeds blood to a part of the heart muscle) most commonly due to a clot or thrombus. The interrupted blood flow that occurs during a heart attack can damage or destroy a part of the heart muscle.
In MI, the blood flow to a portion of myocardium (muscular tissue of the heart) is blocked which results in damage or death of heart muscle tissue. This usually happens secondary to formation of a clot within blood vessels or heart.
The myocardium is the muscular tissue of the heart; it receives nutrients and oxygen from coronary arteries. The coronary arteries are small blood vessels in the myocardium which bring blood from aorta, the main artery of the body. When these coronary arteries become blocked or narrowed secondary to a blood clot or accumulation of plaques of fats, the blood flow to the myocardium is blocked which results in infarction.Depending on the size of infarct, area of the heart affected and whether the blockage is partial or complete, a myocardial infarction may be mild (chest pain) or severe resulting in heart failure or even death.
This fatal condition if fortunately, rare in dogs.
Common symptoms associated with myocardial infarction include
Weakness
Lethargy
Vomiting
Difficult breathing
Obesity
Low-grade fever
Lameness
Increased heart rate
Collapse
Sudden death
